


Sleepless in Harran

by Claireton



Series: The Crate Adventures [2]
Category: Dying Light
Genre: Barbie is a traitor, Gen, Is Crane too OOC?, Rare Fandoms, Shenanigans, im sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-27
Updated: 2016-04-27
Packaged: 2018-06-04 06:34:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6645325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Claireton/pseuds/Claireton
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kate is bored out of her mind during a sleepless night in Harran, until a familiar face shows up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sleepless in Harran

**Author's Note:**

> Warning - Super silly things ahead. Beware!

Kate clicked her teeth together absently, laying her stomach down on the couch of her safehouse. In her hands were two little plastic figures, one a worn looking Barbie doll and the other some type of military man, complete with a badly made machine gun in his hands. She had found them in one of the bedrooms two weeks prior, lying on top of one another, which Kate took as a display of their shared affection. Now, they stood on the little oak cabinet at the end of the couch, bouncing up and down intermittently as they spoke to one another.

 _"No John, you can't go, how could I live without you?!"_ Barbie wailed, her plastic, bottle blonde hair bouncing frantically as Kate's hand shook.

 _"I've got to, my love."_ the army man- _John_ , replied.

 _"_ _Even if I have to do it alone, the conspiracy **must** be stopped."_

 _"You'll never be alone."_   Barbie countered, perfect little plastic feet tapping against the wood as she neared.

_"I will always be with you."_

Their mouths neared one another's, but before they could meet, there was a knife in Barbie's hand, buried deep in John's gut.

 _"The Watchman sends his regards."_ she whispered into John's ear, before releasing the knife and letting him stumble backward, ultimately falling off the edge of the cabinet to the depths below.

"Oh Barbie, you sly little bitch." Kate muttered, shaking her head reproachfully at the little doll.

"He loved you, how could you do that to him?"

 _"Hey, shouldn't have let his emotions get in the way of his work."_ she shrugged nonchalantly, before dropping out of Kate's hand and onto the cabinet, lifeless once more.

Kate sighed and let her face plop down against the fabric of the sofa, her mind heavy and dull with boredom. She had _tried_ sleeping, but a particularly exhausting day had her sleeping during the daylight hours, and now it was so close to night that there was no point in going outside. She was too awake to slumber again, though, and had spent a considerable amount of time trying to find something to do in her little safe space.

The TV in the corner, perched atop a coffee table, obviously wasn't going to be of help any time soon unless she decided that static was her new favourite show. Even the chest of drawers, half filled as it were with little knick knacks Kate had picked up over time, held nothing that could truly alleviate her debilitating boredom. There _was_ the book she had found, closed over on the coffee table in front of the couch, but it was just a godawful story about some woman who manages to 'find herself' or something. Kate wasn't certain. Every time she opened it up, the dullness of the story had her groaning until she closed it again. No, she needed something more active than reading a book, or she might just perish of boredom long before any of the infected got their hands on her.

She lifted her head again, staring wistfully at the open space between the coffee table and the TV. All those damned workout channels she used to scoff at and pity the users of would have been a godsend at a time like this. After shoving herself up into a semi sitting position, she cast her gaze to the only window that wasn't covered up. It was a small, thin thing, coming to a head with the roof of the room. It was just big enough for someone to squeeze through, and thanks to the door being covered up by a tilted wardrobe and another chest of drawers, was the only entrance to the place. Kate counted on herself being one of the few able to fit through it, and reasoned that even if an infected did somehow get that far, she would have a decent chance at fighting it while it dangled halfway through. So far, there had been no incidents. At that moment, it gave her the sight of the brilliant oranges that foretold the coming of night, and also reminded her that she was in for a depressingly bland few hours of darkness.

Kate forced herself to her feet, stretching out her arms and legs for next to no real reason.

_'Come on Kate, there has to be something to do.'_

She looked again to the chest of drawers full of bits and bobs.

_'Go pull a MacGyver and make a Gameboy out of two chopsticks or something.'_

She smirked at herself and moved over, pulling open the topmost drawer and lifting out a black shoelace. Not very useful on its own, but perhaps if one end was pulled around to make a lasso of sorts.

' _The adventures of Cowgirl Barbie?'_

Looking back to the doll, void of any life as it lay on the cabinet, Kate sighed quietly to herself.

_'No way. She's way too high class to be a cowgirl. Uppity bitch.'_

The lace fell back into the drawer before Kate had her hands sliding around the wood to find more random items. They retrieved a mostly wasted pen and the empty cover of some kid's movie that was utterly useless, but Kate liked the cute cartoon on the front and kept it regardless.

_'I wonder if this movie's actually any good.'_

She dropped the pen, turning the cover over in her hands a few times before letting it fall back into the drawer and shutting them both away. The room sank to near pitch black as the sun finally removed its last rays from the city, and Kate turned toward the bathroom of the place, glaring at the Barbie doll as she passed.

_'Okay, I'm turning my back to you now, so you better not try anything. I could take you on any day.'_

Predictably, the doll remained inanimate, incapable of responding as Kate slipped through the half closed door and picked up the small electric lantern she had placed on the toilet cistern. It was one of the ones you could wind up to give power, an unbelievably lucky find that Kate had come across on one of her supply runs. It was quite strong for its size, and had no problem lighting up the entire main room when placed in the middle, but even so Kate had a dwindling box of matches stored away in the bathroom's medicine cabinet, along with a tall candle. Always good to have a backup.

A few wind ups later, the press of a button flooded the bathroom with light, bouncing off of the walls and making Kate squint for a moment. She turned to the mirror on the door of the cabinet, welcoming the sight of her own reflection. Her hair, two toned in maroon and natural brown, was pulled back and securely tied up at the back of her head. A deep purple hoodie  came over the top of a pair of black tracksuit bottoms that had originally had legs too long, but the strings tied around Kate's shins kept that problem off of her back until the next time she would change. Though she couldn't see her feet, she knew them to only have socks on, with the trainers chucked carelessly aside in the corner of the main room alongside her backpack. There was a certain liberty to being able to walk around in only socks that made her feel more at home.

_'Looking good, Kate. Things might be shitty now, but after you get the hell out of here, you are gonna have the **best** bikini body.'_

 She offered herself a smile of reassurance before pulling open the cabinet door. Inside, on shelf below the candle and matches, was a semi-used collection of makeup items; A liquid eyeliner, a hot pink lipstick, and a deep blue eyeshadow. Though looking her best was certainly not at the top of her priorities, and those particular items didn't go together very well at all, Kate still enjoyed toying with them every now and then. She'd never wear them outside, of course, rather confined the practice to the audience of her mirror, but nonetheless being able to follow through an action that had been so common before hell broke loose was comforting.

She took out the items, placing them on the edge of the sink beside a facecloth before closing over the cabinet door. Her reflection appeared again, waiting and ready.

_'Okay Kate. Time to dazzle.'_

First up was the eyeliner. She undid the brush, placing the small tub back on the sink before leaning forward. The first stroke was on target, but the second had an uneven line trying to escape down to her cheek.

"Fuck.." Kate breathed to herself, blinking her eye a few times before trying again.

The next line was almost more messed up than the last, and Kate groaned exasperatedly before dotting two eyes and a smile on her cheek in defeat.

_'Chill, Kate. It's just eyeliner. Not like you're going anywhere with it.'_

She replaced the brush, putting a stopper in the sink and letting it slowly fill with water as she put the makeup items back in the cabinet. Messing up the eyeliner had just killed her flow.

Once the water was high enough, she turned the taps off and dipped the facecloth in, stooping over and starting to scrub the offending substance from her face. When an alien noise sounded past the splashing of water, echoed by the small bathroom, she turned her head toward the door and raised an eyebrow, but no more sounds were to be heard than the occasional drop of water splashing back into the sink. Perhaps it had just been her imagination.

_'Barbie's out there getting up to all sorts of havoc. Someone needs to take her down a peg.'_

Kate raised her head to see faint smudges of eyeliner still present.

_'Right after I get this stupid tar off my face.'_

Another dip and a few scrubs later, there was a loud clatter from the main room that Kate was certain she hadn't imagined. She looked to the door again, letting the cloth fall into the water and standing up straight. Her body tensed and she quickly throw the bottom of her hoodie up to her face to dry it.

_'Holy shit, is there something outside the apartment?'_

She picked up the lantern and crept toward the door, swallowing thickly.

_'I bet it's a fucking Volatile. This is probably where it ends.'_

Her free hand snaked around the handle, inviting a tense breath.

_'Well, this is where it ends Kate. Maybe you can give it a little bruise with your hammer if it doesn't tear you in half first.'_

She tore open the door, only snagging a glance of the figure lodged in the window before her gaze locked onto her backpack. The lantern threw light about the place as she sprinted, making shadows slice through the wallpaper and quickly recede with each step. It was a struggle to rip open the zip with one hand occupied, but nonetheless it was eventually opened and Kate's hand was buried deep inside the pack.

_'Come on, come on!'_

Her grip found the handle of the hammer and lifted it out, spilling a variety of other items onto the floor in the process. Kate whipped around, hammer raised and half expecting the creature to be pouncing, but the figure trapped in the window by its waistline was no Volatile. Short, tussled brown hair that connected to thick stubble was facing the wall opposite the window, while its owner's face was directed at the ground, emitting a series of strained curses. They shouldn't have been able to fit in, probably wouldn't, but by God were they trying.

_'What the fuck.'_

Kate recognized the voice that was emitting profanities amidst the struggle, her eyes widening as she lowered the hammer and just watched. The scene might have been comedic if she wasn't completely flabbergasted by the chances of it all. If she was right about the owner, then she wasn't entirely sure what to make of the situation. The first time they had met she was busy stealing from him, but by the end she had returned it. Some of it.

_'Craven? No Kane. Crane!'_

He planted his hands flat against the wall on either side of himself before his muscles bulged with a powerful attempt at shoving himself through, accompanied by a grunt of effort. He didn't budge.

"Come on, you fuckin'..." he groaned.

Another attempt and he came hurtling through, flipping over and sprawling onto the floor. He was hidden from Kate's view by the couch until she scuttled to the side, illuminating the scene to find him stomach up with his eyes scrunched. Now that he was in full view, Kate was certain it was Crane. Though he might have traded his original clothing for a black t-shirt and trousers, there was no denying it. She heard him sigh with exhaustion while her body seemed to move of its own accord, placing the lantern on the floor and having her feet guide her back toward the bathroom. She wasn't even sure why she was planning to hide, but it felt like the most appropriate thing to do.

"Hey!" his voice sounded.

_'Shit.'_

Kate turned on her heel to see Crane staring at her,  body still lying down but head lifted at an angle. Kate slid the hammer behind her back, hoping it went unnoticed while Crane pushed himself to his feet, albeit slowly. He moved with considerably more sluggishness than the last time she had seen him. Probably down to being tired.

"It _is_ you. Was wondering where you got to." he claimed, giving Kate a look that she couldn't truly place the nature of.

Even as he began an action as simple as walking toward her, something seemed too off, as though he were worried about losing balance with each step.

_'He doesn't look mad. But don't-'_

Crane's knee jerked upward before he flew at her, arms raised high. She instinctively dropped the hammer to place her hands against his shoulders, futilely so as she crashed backward into the wall adjacent to the bathroom door with his weight. Her mind was already rife with plans of action, trying to calculate the best way to fight back, but came to a halt by the time she realized Crane was chuckling. Then his hands braced themselves at either side of her head as he shifted his weight off of her, a grin playing on his lips.

"Jeez, sorry about that." he mumbled, still chuckling through the words. Kate's eyebrows twitched as she recognized a certain odor in the air whenever he opened his mouth.

' _Is that whiskey?'  
_

Crane released her from the cage of his arms, turning around and seeming to survey the floor while Kate's mind was abuzz with curiosity. Even from a side view of his face, she could see that it was different to the last time she had seen him. Gone were the perpetually furrowed brows, and the sharp focus that his eyes seemed to carry before, traded in for an ambivalent gaze and the ghost of a smirk on his lips. He stooped over, having to grope at the floor a few times before getting what he was after and rising again. Kate's little army man was clutched firmly in his hand.

"Hey, don't trip people up." he chided the little man, using his free hand to point an accusing finger.

_'Oh my God. He's **drunk**.'_

She watched him chuck the thing aside and mutter something about kids cleaning up their toys before he bumbled off, his focus apparently captured by something else.

_'What the hell am I supposed to do? Make him leave?'_

Her gaze departed from the man, switching up to the darkness of the outside.

_'It's night, though. Even if I could force him out, that would be a shitty thing to do.'_

When she looked over again, Crane was precariously wobbling on one knee, his hands sifting through the things that had spilled from Kate's bag.

"Hey!" she hissed, marching toward him.

"Relax, I'm just looking." Crane assured, seemingly unfazed when Kate pulled up beside him, hands on her hips.

His fingers caught onto a small little card among the contents, peering at it while Kate's mind was too preoccupied with plans of action to closely look.

"Kate Murphy, huh?" he announced.

_'What?'_

With her attention drawn back, Kate glared at the card in his hand to see her driver's license, almost as fresh as the day she had gotten it. She wasn't even sure why she had kept it so far, but she didn't want some stranger reading it.

"Hey, give that back!" she demanded, reaching forward only to have Crane's hand press firmly against her collarbone, effectively stilling her as he rose to a standing position.

"Sixteenth April, Eighty Seven.." he continued, seeming to care little about Kate's continued struggles.

Being drunk did not diminish his strength, and in frustration Kate gripped his arm and pushed it aside, latching onto his other and holding it still while she ripped the card from his hand. She gave it a quick look over before stomping over to her bag, kneeling down to start replacing the contents.

"Jeez, why so pissy?" Crane wondered.

_'Is he fucking serious?'_

"You broke into my place." Kate replied, struggling to keep her voice even as she zipped the bag.

"It's not _your_ place." he countered.

Kate stood, slinging the bag over her shoulder and heading for the bathroom. At least in there it would be hidden from sight.

"Uh, yeah, it pretty much is." she answered.

There was no response as she stepped through the door, leaving it open a fraction. The light from the lantern outside dimmed, blocked by the door, leaving the bathroom in considerable darkness. She placed the bag in the corner and turned to the mirror, bracing her hands on either side of the sink.

_'Okay, Kate. There's a drunk guy in your apartment. He's bigger than you, stronger than you, and last time you saw him you kicked him in the balls.'_

She took a breath, nodding to herself in a sort of assurance.

_'Just bear with it until the morning, then kick him out.'_

She stood up straight again, only a second before the room was totally robbed of all light, stealing her reflection from her.

_'Jesus Christ, what now?'_

She turned, groping through the pitch black for the door handle a few times before she found it and introduced herself to an equally dark apartment. One step later she was in the doorway, trying in vain to peer through the darkness.

"Turn the light back on." she growled through closed teeth.

 **"** **Now."**

"Why, scared of the dark?" teased the black room, a smile clear in his voice.

Kate clenched her fists, loosing a tense sigh.

"I'm giving you five seconds." she warned, staring straight ahead into the darkness. It was simply too dark to even attempt looking for him.

Kate only made it to three before the total lack of response had her turning back into the bathroom.

_'Why me? What have I done to deserve this?'_

Her hand slid around in the air until it pulled open the medicine cabinet and lifted the box of matches.

_'I'm feeling less and less guilty for reducing his chances of children with every second.'  
_

To her dismay, only a single match remained, but it was enough to light the candle in its holder and bring a formidable warm glow to the bathroom. She turned to the door, cupping a hand around the flame to prevent the movement from extinguishing it. Once at the doorway, she stopped and moved the hand to let the light go as far as possible. The light just barely licked across Crane's shoes, stationary in the exact spot where Kate had placed the lantern.

_'Got you.'_

Half a step forward and her foot snagged in her forgotten hammer, sending her jerking forward with the candle crashing to the floor. The room was submerged in darkness once again while Crane's unchecked snickering sounded from his place.

Kate's jaw locked in frustration, holding back a roar while she extended her arms out at waist line to check for the couch.

_'Unbelievable. Fucking unbelievable.'_

Steady, even steps brought her closer to where she had seen him. It felt incredibly foolish to be groping around the way she was, but frustration overpowered her embarrassment and she persisted regardless.

"Polo." came his voice.

"I'm going to murder you." Kate seethed.

At last, her fingers found purchase, sliding around the surface of the couch until they curled around some sort of pocket on it, though something didn't feel quite right.

_'Why the hell is the couch so warm?'_

"Hey, if _that's_ all you wanted, you just had to ask." Crane murmured, his voice alarmingly close.

Sudden light made Kate squint, clutching tighter to the fabric until her vision cleared. Crane stood less than arms length away, looking down at her with a closed grin and an eyebrow perked in a suggestive expression. Her eyes traveled downward to find her fingers, not connected to any sort of furniture, but rather disappearing into the heat between Crane's trousers and his pelvis.

"Oh, _God!_ " Kate exclaimed, immediately recoiling and wiping her hands against her hoodie frantically.

"Hey, don't act like you didn't like it."  he crooned.

Kate looked back up to him, embarrassment being the winner of the situation while she spluttered jumbled responses. After giving up on a verbal response, she snatched the lantern from his grip, holding it tightly and taking a heavy calming breath.

_'I cannot deal with this until the morning, bu-Jesus, what's he doing now?''_

Crane walked past her, seemingly having lost interest.

"What are you doing?" Kate asked, trying to scan her mind for anything in the apartment he could play with next.

"Just going to the bathroom." he answered casually.

Once he reached the doorway he stopped, letting one hand rest against the frame while he looked back to her with a smirk.

"Unless you wanna come take things further."

Kate glowered, on the verge of hurling the lantern at him when he skipped in and shut the door.

_'Would I really feel **that** bad killing someone?'_

She took the precious time to herself to collapse on the couch, placing the lantern on the coffee table and letting her head roll back to face the ceiling with a groan.

_'It's just until morning, Kate. Just until morning.'_

Her head fell to the side, looking at the bathroom door.

_'He better know what he's doing in the dark. If there's any kind of mess in there...'  
_

The door opened again, and a determined looking Crane marched toward Kate, who remained in the same position, watching from a lopsided view.

_'That was **really** fast..'_

Crane dropped onto the couch beside her, making the cushions bounce as he glared at her with a severe gaze. They remained in the silence for a few moments before Kate caved in.

"Wha-"

"Pick a number." Crane interrupted.

Kate stared at him, uprighting her head slowly.

_'Just entertain him. Maybe he'll shut up.'_

"Seven." she sighed.

Crane inched closer, his eyes narrowing. It might have been intimidating if his eyes looked like they had any real focus to them.

"Is _this_ your card?" he asked grandiosely, producing Kate's license from God knows where.

_'That's it.'_

Kate shot to her feet, snatching the license and shoving Crane back down when he tried to follow suit.

"Stay. There." she hissed, feeling like a mother berating an unruly child.

"Yes, ma'am." Crane replied, the salacious edge to his voice making Kate grind her teeth as she stomped into the bathroom to replace her card.

She knelt at the opened bag, standing it up.

_'There better not be anything else missing.'_

Her searching proved fruitless, and with an exhausted sigh she chucked the license back in before slinging one of the straps around her shoulder.

_'Where can I hide this? Maybe I should just keep it on me.'_

She stepped back out, expecting to find another act of drunken idiocy, but instead found Crane to be lying down on the couch, half of his face carelessly digging into the fabric with his eyes closed. Kate approached slowly, watching the steady rise and fall of his torso.

_'No way. It's too good to be true.'_

"Crane?" she whispered, receiving no response.

She repeated the name, extending her arm out and clicking her fingers. Still no response.

_'Oh thank God.'_

She lifted the lantern and crept backward, swinging her backpack to her front before hitting the wall and letting herself slide down against it to the floor. She caged them both in her arms, regarding Crane's sleeping form.

_'It would be **so** easy to go and smash your head in right now. One less nuisance for me to deal with.'_

Her eyes drifted to the hammer on the floor before Crane grumbled something in his slumber and shifted, extracting the rest of his face from the cushion and turning to face the ceiling.

_'Let's just call this compensation for smashing your man marbles.'_

She clicked the lantern off, bathing the room in darkness once more.

\------

Kate awoke with a start, arms clutching her things tighter and gaze dancing around the room before her heart settled down again.

_'What? Did I fall asleep?'_

Her eyes traveled to the window, allowing the morning sunlight to illuminate the room, including the empty couch.

_'Ugh. At least he'll be sober by now.'_

She looked to her bag, tensing and cursing under her breath to find the zips parted.

_'If he fucking stole something...'_

Kate's hands dove into the bag, but rather than notice anything stolen, she instead found the book that had been on her coffee table. After lifting it out, she noticed her driver's license sticking out from one of the first few pages and opened it up to a page that had formerly been blank, but now was home to a small, pen written message.

**'Sorry about last night.**

**Thanks for not killing me. I probably would have.**

**If you need anything, come to the Tower and ask for Crane.'**

She lowered the book, smiling flatly to herself.

_'I guess he doesn't realize that I've known his name for like forever.'_

Her eyes glided up to the window once more, an sigh escaping her lips.

_'Until next time, Crane.'_

**Author's Note:**

> This took longer than I thought it would, but I feel kind of happy with the way it turned out! Definitely feeling a type of mini series coming on for Kate and Crane. (Nothing that will overshadow my other fics though.)


End file.
